


tinsel and trouble

by splendidlyimperfect



Series: discord & dragons [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Animal Transformation, Baby dragons - Freeform, Canon Universe, Christmas, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Dragons, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Holidays, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Freed, but it's not really christmas its a bunch of different holidays, but with winter holidays mixed in, it's just more dumb fluffy baby dragons stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splendidlyimperfect/pseuds/splendidlyimperfect
Summary: Gray's looking forward to his first winter holiday season with his boyfriends and grandparents, but his plans are disrupted by the baby dragon's curse.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster & Freed Justine, Laxus Dreyar/Freed Justine, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney/Gray Fullbuster, Rogue Cheney/Natsu Dragneel, Rogue Cheney/Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe/Gray Fullbuster, Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Sting Eucliffe/Gray Fullbuster
Series: discord & dragons [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058171
Comments: 22
Kudos: 59





	1. snowflakes and sorcery

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to more baby dragon fluff!! it's my kitties' first christmas (they're 9 months old) and we've had a few adventures with them and the tree, so i wanted to write some holiday shenanigans with the baby dragons. also i love writing freed and gray as best friends! 
> 
> this is set a year after [discord and dragons](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808893) and features gray's grandparents (ataa and anaa). they're from isvan and their culture is based on inuit culture. the language they speak is based on inuinnaqtun, but is entirely made up other than the terms for 'grandmother' and 'grandfather.' 
> 
> you will be surprised to know that this fic is FINISHED, i'm just publishing the chapters a few days apart.

“Are that many lights really necessary?”

Gray stood in front of the house, hands on his hips as he watched Natsu balance precariously on the ladder. A string of multicolored lights was draped along the roof and the loose end was wrapped around Natsu’s arm.

“You already know the answer to that,” Natsu said, grinning as he leaned forward to loop the cord around the next hook. “Bigger and brighter!”

Gray rolled his eyes. “You’d better not fall,” he said as he headed into the house. “You don’t wanna spend the holidays with a broken arm.”

“I’m fine, Snowflake,” Natsu insisted, leaning as far as he could off the ladder. “You worry too much.”

“I worry exactly the right amount,” Gray grumbled as he pushed the front door open. “I’m the one who ends up carrying you to Wendy when you get hurt, idiot.”

“I heard that!”

“Good!”

Gray nudged the door shut and kicked off his shoes, sighing happily at the scent of sugar cookies that wafted out from the kitchen. Soft music played in the living room, and Gray could hear Sting humming to himself as he decorated the tree.

It felt strange to celebrate the holidays with all of them. Gray had shied away from Winter Veil celebrations for so many years – it had always reminded him too much of his parents. The trees and lights were so similar to Aulanmuuq, the Isvanian winter holiday, and even though Fairy Tail was his new home, it had always hurt to celebrate without his family.

Now he had family – new and old. Ataa and Anaa had decided to visit this year, and as soon as they’d found out, Natsu, Rogue and Sting had immediately started planning. The house was a strange jumble of holidays – holly and iceberry wreaths for Aulanmuuq, colored lights for Winter Veil, and plates upon plates of baking for Nev’dya, the Draconic solstice celebration.

“Are you making _more_ cookies?” Gray asked, poking his head into the kitchen. Several cooling racks took up most of the counter space, covered in different types of sweets. Rogue, who was rummaging around in the pantry, turned around and gave Gray a serious look.

“Food is important,” he insisted. Natsu had informed Gray that Nev’dya – which the Dragon Slayers had all celebrated with their parents as children – was mostly about eating enough food to hibernate over the winter. Gray wasn’t sure if it was true, or if Natsu was making excuses to eat an unreasonable number of cookies. 

“I know,” Gray reassured Rogue. “I’m just… not sure our pantry has any more room.” He gestured to the open door where the shelves were packed with containers of sweets.

“We can use the hall closet,” Rogue said, shooing Gray away from the tray of cookies he was halfway through icing. “There’s plenty of room.”

“Uhuh.” Gray raised an eyebrow. “If Sting and Natsu don’t eat them all first.”

“Hey!” Sting protested from the living room.

“Hey, what?” Gray answered, laughing. “How many batches of cookies have the two of you eaten in the past week?”

“That’s classified,” Sting insisted. He peeked around the corner and stuck his tongue out at Gray. “You can’t say that. But I might be willing to forgive you if you help me with the tree decorations.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Gray said, leaning over the counter to give Rogue a quick kiss before heading toward the living room. He was about to ask Sting where the berry garlands had gone when he heard a crash at the front of the house.

“If that was the ladder…” Gray switched directions and ran back to the front door, quickly flinging it open. “I told you to be careful, you—”

He stopped mid sentence, looking at the ladder lying on the ground, then up to the roof. A panicked squeaking sound came from the gutter, where a tiny red dragon was dangling and frantically kicking his legs.

“Again?” Gray grumbled as he grabbed the ladder and pushed it back up against the house. Natsu whined, scrambling with his back feet to get purchase on the gutter as his tail flicked back and forth. “You all have the worst timing, I swear.” He climbed up the ladder and grabbed Natsu around the middle, lifting him off the gutter and hushing his frantic squeaks. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re fine.”

Natsu squirmed in his grip, clearly unconvinced by Gray’s words. He only started to calm once they were back on the ground and he was held against Gray’s chest, kneading the soft fabric of Gray’s knitted sweater.

Gray sighed, looking up at the string of lights that dangled from the roof. “This is just gonna keep happening, isn’t it?” he asked Natsu, who stared up at him with wide eyes. “This is my curse. Half the time I have boyfriends, half the time I have pets. At least you eat less when you’re little.”

Natsu made an affronted noise, then scrambled up onto Gray’s shoulder and nipped his ear. Gray’s lacrima phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, snorting at the message from Freed. It was a picture of Laxus in dragon form, tangled up in a box of tinsel, accompanied by a set of rolling eyes.

“Looks like it’s all of you this time,” Gray said, taking a quick picture of Natsu on his shoulder and sending it back to Freed with a shrug and the words, _See you soon_. “C’mon, let’s go see what the other two have gotten into.”

As soon as they walked in the front door, Gray hear rustling in the kitchen. He peeked in, laughing when he saw Rogue on the counter, frozen in place and staring at Gray with one paw on the edge of the bowl of icing. There was a smear of white on his nose already, and he quickly licked his lips before backing away from the bowl toward the cookie tray.

“C’mere, you,” Gray said, holding out his hand. Rogue looked at him warily, then grabbed a cookie between his teeth and launched himself off the counter, scrambling between Gray’s legs and down the hallway.

“Get back here!” Gray shouted, spinning around and chasing Rogue toward the bedroom. “If you get cookie crumbs on my sheets, I swear to—”

He was interrupted by another crash from the living room, following by several surprised squeaks. Gray stared helplessly at the tip of Rogue’s tail as it disappeared around the corner into the bedroom, torn between catching him before he ate the entire cookie and going back to help Sting. A loud, distressed whine made the decision for him and he turned around quickly, heading back to the living room.

The tree was miraculously still standing, but the cardboard box of decorations that Sting had been using was tipped upside-down and a pathetic sound came from underneath it. Natsu jumped from Gray’s shoulder onto the couch, then hopped on top of the box and stared down at it curiously.

“Get off,” Gray said to him, making a shooing motion as he knelt down. Natsu ignored him, nipping at his fingers and scratching the top of the box. The box growled at him and he glared at it suspiciously.

“It’s just Sting,” Gray said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed Natsu by the scruff and set him on the floor. “See?” When he lifted the box to reveal Sting, who was staring around in bewilderment, Natsu made a pleased sound and tackled him. Sting yelped in surprise, kicking at Natsu with his hind legs as Natsu bit playfully at his neck.

“At least nothing’s broken,” Gray said, inspecting the contents of the box before lifting it onto the couch. One of the ornaments tumbled to the ground and started to roll away, and Sting and Natsu both immediately chased after it, batting it between them as their tails flicked back and forth in excitement.

Gray smiled at the familiar playful behavior. The three of them hadn’t shifted in months, and if he was being honest with himself, he’d sort of missed it. The unpredictability of the magic had been irritating at first, happening frequently at the most inopportune times. Once, a guild master’s meeting had been interrupted by Sting and Laxus both eating the meeting notes instead of taking them. Another time, date night ended abruptly when all three of Gray’s dates were suddenly chasing each other under the tables of the restaurant.

It had been over a year now since the curse, and Gray and Freed still couldn’t find a pattern – or reason – behind the shifts. Gray had resigned himself to it by now, and he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed waking up to three purring, cuddly dragons curled around him.

A knock at the front door pulled Gray out of his thoughts.

“Don’t destroy anything,” he said sternly to Sting and Natsu, who ignored him in favor of playing tug-of-war with a sock they’d found under the couch.

Freed stood outside the house with Laxus on their shoulder, who chittered happily when he saw Gray.

“It feels like the last time was only a couple of weeks ago,” Freed said dryly as Laxus hopped off their shoulder, hovering clumsily in the air for a second before drifting down to the ground and darting past Gray into the living room.

“I was kind of hoping they’d be human for Ataa and Anaa to visit,” Gray admitted. Freed kicked off their shoes and followed Gray into the kitchen. “But Qinmiq will be thrilled.”

“Ataa will be, too,” Freed said, raising an eyebrow at the baking trays on the kitchen counters. “If there isn’t room for all of us, we don’t have to stay here, I just—”

“Don’t be silly.” Gray nudged Freed’s shoulder as he grabbed one of the half-iced cookies and took a bite. “We’ll make it work.”

He knew Freed got lonely when it was just him and dragon-Laxus, and Gray understood. Neither of them was technically alone with the dragons, but it was nice to have human company, and easier to keep track of all four of them with two sets of eyes. Gray’s house was slightly more dragon-proofed than Freed’s apartment, so Freed had taken to staying with Gray whenever Laxus shifted.

“Are you su—”

“Yes.” Gray sighed as his gaze skipped from the cookies to the pile of baking racks and trays sitting in the sink. “As long as you help me do the dishes. Of course Rogue didn’t do them _before_ he changed. Convenient.”

Freed snorted, rolling up their sleeves and nudging Gray out of the way to fill the sink with water.

“Speaking of that little shit,” Gray said, suddenly remembering Rogue’s disappearance with the cookie, “I’ll be right back.”

When Gray peeked into the bedroom Rogue was nowhere to be seen, but Gray could hear a quiet crunching sound coming from the closet. He nudged aside the laundry with his foot and sighed when he uncovered Rogue, who hastily swallowed the remainder of the cookie before rolling onto his back and giving Gray an innocent look.

“Don’t you dare,” Gray grumbled, scooping up Rogue and nudging the mess of crumbs with his foot. “You’re trouble and you know it.” Rogue chittered at him, purring and headbutting his chin.

Freed was already halfway through the dishes once Gray returned to the kitchen. Rogue immediately hopped out of Gray’s arms onto the counter and joined Laxus, who was sitting on the ledge above the sink and watching the soap bubbles with his head cocked to one side.

“Don’t try to eat that,” Freed warned, flicking water at Rogue when he started to lean down into the sink. Rogue sputtered, rubbing his face with a paw and giving Freed a disgruntled look. “Laxus already tried,” Freed said. Gray snorted, grabbing a dish towel and pulling one of the trays out of the sink.

Rogue and Laxus watched as Freed and Gray washed and dried the dishes in comfortable silence. Gray appreciated the quiet. He knew that other people were put off by his silence sometimes, but with Freed, it never felt awkward.

“When are your grandparents coming?” Freed asked once the dishes were put away. They scooped up Rogue, who had started to sneak toward the cookie containers again, and passed him over to Gray. Laxus flapped down to the ground and followed them into the living room.

“Tomorrow,” Gray said as he set Rogue on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. He could hear Sting and Natsu rolling around under the tree, occasionally catching a glimpse of red or white. “We’re picking them up at the train station after breakfast.” He flopped down onto the couch and Sting immediately rushed over, scrambling up onto the couch and hopping onto Gray’s chest.

“That should prove interesting with those three,” Freed said as they settled down next to Gray, nudging his feet onto their lap so they both fit on the sofa. “At least you’re not taking them _on_ the train this time.”

Gray laughed, stroking the soft white fur as Sting started to knead his sweater. “I’d suggest leaving them here with you while I go to the station, but that didn’t work out so well last time.” At the mention of leaving them behind, Sting made a distressed sound.

“Don’t worry,” Gray reassured him. “I won’t leave you.” Sting purred, rubbing his face against Gray’s hand before flipping onto his back. Gray scratched Sting’s stomach, looking down at Natsu and Rogue, who had scrambled over to the couch and were sitting on their haunches, staring at him with wide eyes.

Gray sighed, remembering their last disastrous trip on the train, and hoping this time would go smoother.

“You can all come,” he said, holding out his hand for Rogue and Natsu. “You just have to be good.”


	2. family and friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray's grandparents arrive, and Gray's grandmother teaches him what their holiday is all about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'know, this started off as crack (again) and it turned into feelings (again), which i'm sure nobody is surprised by. i think it's just because i love gray a lot, and i'm really enjoying the idea of giving him back this family and language and culture that he thought he'd lost. he's gone through enough shit, so he gets a happy holiday with his family and his dragons. 
> 
> the holiday celebrations are all made up! winter veil is borrowed from world of warcraft but is basically the fioran winter holiday. aulanmuuq is the isvanian holiday which is centered on storytelling. nev'dya is the draconic celebration of the winter solstice/changing of the seasons.

The trip to the train station was surprisingly uneventful. Freed and Laxus stayed back at the house to finish cooking, so it was just Gray and the dragons. Natsu and Sting rode happily on his shoulders, while Rogue slept in his pocket. Soft flakes of snow drifted down around them, and Sting spent most of the trip trying to catch them in midair.

The train station was packed. Gray made sure to keep the dragons close as he nudged his way through the crowd, occasionally standing on his tiptoes to see over everyone’s heads.

_“Nilaaqu!”_

The familiar nickname broke through the noise and jumble, and Gray felt his heart lighten when he saw Anaa nudging her way through the crowd toward them. Ataa followed close behind with their wolfdog Qinmiq, who looked very unimpressed by her leash.

_“Aulhit, Anaa,”_ Gray said, pulling his grandmother into a hug and kissing her cheek. She returned the gesture, laughing when Sting and Natsu both nuzzled her. “How was the trip?”

“Very fast!” Ataa said, moving in and grinning at Gray. He looked like he was about to say something else, but Qinmiq pushed past him, tail wagging frantically as she headbutted Gray’s legs. He laughed, crouching down and scratching behind her ears as she licked his cheeks.

“I missed you too,” he reassured her. Sting made a pleased sound, clambering down Gray’s shoulder and over Qinmiq’s head, which was nearly twice the size of him. He settled down on her back, kneading her scruff happily as he started to purr. “And Sting missed you, too.”

Qinmiq gave Gray a soft _woof,_ seemingly unperturbed by the sudden passenger on her back.

“Trouble again,” Ataa said, holding out his hand to Natsu, who chittered and rubbed his head against Ataa’s fingers. “You are being good?”

Natsu cocked his head to the side, eyes wide and innocent, and Gray rolled his eyes. _“They haven’t broken anything yet,”_ he said in Isvanian. _“But it’s only been one day. Bad timing, I guess.”_

Ataa shook his head, holding out his hand for Natsu to clamber onto. _“He is trouble,”_ Ataa admitted as Natsu scrambled up into his hood. _“But cute trouble.”_ He raised his eyebrows at Gray and gave him a conspiratorial smile. _“Both the dragon and the boy, yes?”_

Gray felt his cheeks flush pink and he quickly turned away from his grandfather.

_“Come on,”_ he said, taking Anaa’s arm and gesturing to the station exit. _“Let’s go home.”_

* * *

As soon as they returned to the house, Natsu and Rogue jumped down and bolted toward the living room.

“Stay out of the tree!” Gray shouted as he kicked off his boots and reached out to take Ataa and Anaa’s coats. The lack of jingling ornaments or rustling branches in the living room was reassuring.

Sting, who had fallen asleep on Qinmiq’s back, yawned and stretched out his front legs, kneading her fur and then hopping down to the ground. He nipped at her front paw and scrambled backward, tail flicking back and forth.

“Not in the house, love,” Gray said regretfully, nudging Sting with his foot. Sting sat on his haunches and stared up at Gray with wide, sad eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. Qinmiq’s too big.” Sting whined and pawed at Gray’s leg.

Qinmiq walked over to Sting and, very gently, picked him up in her mouth by his scruff. He made an indignant sound but didn’t struggle as she carried him into the living room.

_“Hau’utan!”_ Anaa’s face brightened into a smile when Freed stepped out of the kitchen, wiping their hands on their apron. Gray smiled at the affectionate name – Ataa had told him that it translated loosely to ‘one adopted into the family.’ 

_“Aulhit,”_ Freed said in perfectly accented Isvanian as Anaa pulled them into a hug. _“Ut Aulanmuuq.”_

_“You learn so fast,”_ Anaa replied, pulling back and smiling as she took both of Freed’s hands. _“What are you making?”_ Before Freed could answer, Anaa gestured to Gray and Ataa and added, _“I will help – those two are no good. Come.”_

Freed laughed and shrugged at Gray as they followed Anaa back into the kitchen. Gray rolled his eyes, gesturing for Ataa to come into the living room. Natsu, Laxus and Rogue were playing under the tree while Qinmiq was curled up in front of the fireplace with Sting tucked between her front paws. He appeared to have accepted the lack of playtime and was snuggled up against her instead.

“This is for what?” Ataa asked in heavily accented Fioran. He was pointing to a set of three small glass dishes that sat on the mantle above the fireplace. Each had a flame in the center that seemed to burn with no fuel.

“It’s for Nev’dya,” Gray explained. “Like Aulanmuuq. But for the dragons.” He switched to Isvanian. _“They’re supposed to burn for three nights, to represent the three months of…”_ He hesitated, unsure of the word for ‘hibernation.’ _“Dragons sleep for the winter, for three moons.”_

Ataa nodded, staring at the magical flames, then turned and pointed to the tree. _“This, too?”_

Gray shook his head. _“No, that’s for Winter Veil.”_ Ataa raised an eyebrow and Gray laughed. _“It’s Fioran. A winter celebration – like Aulanmuuq, too.”_

_“There are many celebrations,”_ Ataa said as he settled down on the couch. Rogue, who had taken over a corner of the sofa, squeaked indignantly when Gray picked him up and took his place. His huffing was easily soothed by a gentle finger running along his muzzle, and his disgruntled sounds soon turned to a quiet purr.

_“Do you remember Aulanmuuq?”_ Ataa asked.

Gray tipped his head back and forth. _“A little. Amaamak made utqaa.”_ He gestured to the wreaths of holly and iceberries that were set along the coffee table. _“I remember visiting you. Paappak cooked a… sweet bread? And there were lights.”_

Ataa nodded, a warm smile crossing his wrinkled face at the mention of his son and daughter-in-law. _“Yes, all of those,”_ he said. _“But the most important thing about Aulanmuuq is stories.”_

Gray was about to ask him what he meant when Natsu poked his head out from under the tree. Something bright green was held in his teeth, and it took Gray a second to realize that it was one of the bulbs from the string of lights.

“Natsu, drop it.” 

Natsu stared at Gray, flicking his tail so it hit the tree branches and knocked pine needles to the ground. He kept the light in his mouth, growling around it at Laxus as he approached.

“I said drop it,” Gray said, giving Natsu a stern look. “What did I say about being good?”

Natsu’s gaze moved over to Ataa, then back to Laxus, who was still approaching slowly. Sting popped his head up from his spot between Qinmiq’s paws, watching Laxus and Natsu curiously.

Before the three of them could start a fight over the bulb, Gray reached back behind the couch and pulled out a small basket. It was filled with brightly-colored toys, and he dug around in it until he found what he was looking for – a small rubber toy in the shape of a fish.

“Trade you,” he offered, holding out the toy. Natsu’s eyes lit up and he scampered across the room, dropping the light and grabbing the fish from Gray’s hand. “Good boy,” Gray said, scratching Natsu’s head as he grabbed the bulb.

“They play much,” Ataa said as the other dragons immediately hopped up onto Gray and started sniffing the basket. “The toys keep them busy.”

“For a while,” Gray agreed, nudging the dragons away and searching through the basket for their favorite toys. He and Freed had taken up sewing a few months ago after too many pairs of socks were destroyed by the dragons, and the toys had proved surprisingly effective in keeping them out of trouble.

He pulled out a small plastic ball and shook it, handing it to Laxus once the lights in it started blinking. Rogue happily took a plush toy in the shape of a coffee mug that was stuffed with real coffee beans – Gray had been relieved that it was enough to _mostly_ keep him away from the coffee machine.

Sting waited patiently, tail wagging back and forth, and made a pleased sound when Gray found his favorite toy. He took the small stuffed bumblebee gently in his teeth, immediately curling up on Gray’s lap next to Rogue with it tucked under his chin.

“At least you don’t destroy things,” Gray said, scratching behind Sting’s ears and setting the basket on the floor. “Unlike _somebody.”_ He looked over at Natsu, who was lying on his back and happily kicking at the rubber fish. All the stuffed toys they’d made for him had ended up ripped to pieces, and Gray had eventually switched to something sturdier.

Laxus approached the couch with the ball in his mouth, looking between Gray and Ataa before dropping it at Ataa’s feet.

“It wants what?” Ataa asked as Laxus looked at him expectantly.

“Throw it.”

Ataa leaned down to pick up the ball, studying it for a moment before tossing it gently across the floor. Laxus darted after it, batting it around a few times before picking it up in his teeth and bringing it back to Ataa. He hopped up onto the couch and dropped it in Ataa’s lap, wagging his tail until Ataa threw it for him again.

Rogue and Sting cuddled together on Gray’s lap, both happily chewing on their toys as they watched Ataa and Laxus play fetch. The weight of them against Gray was comforting – he could feel their heartbeats fluttering under his fingertips as he petted them, and the rise and fall of their backs with each soft breath.

“So,” Ataa said as he watched Laxus scramble under the Christmas tree. “Tell me of Winter Veil.”

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went by peacefully. Natsu attempted to climb the tree at one point, but a stern look from Ataa managed to convince him to come down and cuddle instead. Qinmiq played gently with Sting, letting him gnaw on the end of the rope that Ataa had brought for her.

Eventually Gray and Ataa were called to set the table, which Freed and Anaa quickly filled with food. There was honey spice bread, roast pheasant with wild mushrooms, black beans and rice, and the iceberry wine that Anaa and Ataa had brought from Isvan. The dragons weren’t allowed on the table, so they settled down underneath it instead, and Gray caught Ataa sneaking pieces of meat to them when he thought nobody was looking.

“This one is a good cook,” Anaa said to Gray, gesturing to Freed as they passed her the bread. “You can learn from them. No more eating _qu’ahq.”_ Gray raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word. “Not good food,” Anaa explained. “Garbage.”

Gray laughed, thinking of her horror when she and Ataa has first visited and found his kitchen full of dry noodles and frozen vegetables.

“I’ll try, Anaa,” he promised.

“You keep him honest,” Anaa said to Freed, who nodded. “You will tell me if he eats bad food.” 

Gray and Ataa cleaned the kitchen after supper while Anaa and Freed braided the last of the holly and iceberry strands into the _utqaa_. When Gray and Ataa were done the dishes and returned to the living room, Freed was stoking the fire with Natsu sitting by their side. Natsu watched the flames, occasionally snapping at a wayward spark and eagerly swallowing it down.

“Come,” Anaa said to Gray, gesturing to the floor in front of the couch. She had pushed the coffee table out of the way and set up an unfamiliar, complicated wooden contraption in its place. Gray settled down cross-legged across from Anaa, frowning at the device. Anaa opened a cloth sack full of skeins of dyed wool and the dragons were immediately at her side, curiously nosing at the bag.

“Shoo,” she said, nudging them away. “This is not for you.” Then she turned back to Gray. “This is a loom,” she said, gesturing to the wooden device. “And we are making a story.”

He recalled Ataa’s earlier words about Aulanmuuq, but none of this seemed familiar.

“A story?”

“Yes.”

Before Gray could ask what she meant, she reached across the loom and took both of his hands in her own. The dragons watched curiously as she guided Gray’s fingers to the cords that were strung across the frame.

“Stories can be told in many ways,” Anaa said, squeezing his hands. “Aulanmuuq is about telling those stories. Some of them must be kept, some must be let go, but all of them must be shared.” She let go of his hands and took the bag from her lap, holding it open for him. “You choose.”

He stared at the strands of dyed wool. The bright red was nearly the same color as Natsu, and it seemed to shimmer in the light of the fire. One skein was a soft mix of black and white, and another a bright blue. Gray frowned, reaching out and running his fingers over the wool until he found one in a soft, pale blue. The color of the sky in winter.

“This is your story,” Anaa said as she took the wool and began to show Gray how to weave it into the loom. “Tell me where it begins.”

* * *

They wove late into the night. At first Gray’s fingers felt clumsy next to Anaa’s, but after a while Ataa joined them, helping Gray thread the wool and pull it into patterns. They changed colors whenever Gray felt like it, switching back and forth between nearly every color in the bag.

Freed brought out tea at one point that tasted like cinnamon and honey, and Anaa gestured for them to join Gray as well. Gray somehow knew which threads to pass to Freed, which belonged to Anaa, and which went to Ataa. Qinmiq moved closer and all of the dragons curled up against her, uncharacteristically quiet as they watched the tapestry unfold.

They were halfway through a skein of rich, green wool when Gray knew it was finished. Anaa smiled at him, taking the wool and cutting it off before weaving in the ends.

“What do you think?” she asked once the tapestry was off the loom and in Gray’s hands.

He stared at it, running his fingers across the colors as a warm, content sensation swelled in his chest. It was his story. It started with the winter sky, with white and gold and a soft pink for his childhood. The colors changed abruptly to a mix of deep red and black, an angry mess with several snags. Then white again, then pink – nearly the color of Natsu’s hair. The white and black came later, then green for the northern lights, and a soft, warm orange for Anaa and Ataa and Qinmiq.

The dragons, who had fallen asleep on Qinmiq by this point, stretched and blinked awake. They meandered over to Gray, sniffing the fabric curiously.

“That’s you,” Gray said to Sting, running his fingers over the soft white. Sting rubbed his face against it, then curled up in Gray’s lap and started to purr. Natsu and Rogue continued to sniff it, somehow finding their own colors and copying Sting’s gesture.

“They are smart,” Ataa said from his spot on the couch. Freed was next to him, fast asleep against the pillows with Laxus curled up on their chest. “They know stories.”

“Thank you,” Gray said quietly, looking up at Anaa. She held out her arms to him and he leaned into the embrace, feeling content in a way that he hadn’t since he was small.

“There is nothing to thank me for,” Anaa said. She kissed Gray’s forehead and touched his tapestry with loving fingers. “This was all you. Your story has been long and difficult, but you are here now.” She tapped the deep green at the end. “This is for growth. For new possibilities and beginnings, for being open to love and change. For family.”

Gray ran his fingers over the colors. He didn’t have to search anymore. The piece of him that had always longed for more, that missed his mother and father, that felt broken and alone – it was whole again. He would never forget his parents, would always love them fiercely, but the deep wound he’d carried for so many years was slowly fading to a shallow, soft pain that he could easily carry.

Gray looked around the room – at Laxus sleeping on Freed, at Ataa’s warm smile, at the dragons in his own lap and Anaa’s soft hands on his. They were all bathed in the warm glow of the fire and the Winter Veil lights from the tree, surrounded by the Aulanmuuq _utqaa,_ full of the Nev’dya food prepared with care and love.

“You have many celebrations,” Anaa said. “And many things to love.”

Gray nodded as the soft warm spread through him – a deep sense of belonging, a certainty that this was love. This was home. It was messy and chaotic, and wild and unpredictable, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world

“Yeah,” Gray said as he rested his head against his grandmother’s shoulder and watched his family. “Yeah, I do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Isvanian Translations**  
>  *language is made up but is inspired by inuinnaqtun*
> 
> Nilaaqu - little bear  
> Aulhit - hello  
> Hau'utan - one who is adopted into the family  
> Ut Aulanmuuq - the Isvanian version of 'happy holidays'  
> Utqaa - wreaths of holly and iceberries
> 
> happy holidays to everyone, no matter what you celebrate (or if you aren't at all)! this is a weird year but hopefully you find something that brings you joy and are able to hold it close <3


End file.
